Index 1

HOW TO SCORE

Walk the field and assess grass content.

An Index 1 field will have less than 25% sown, productive species left in the field and the ryegrass that is left is of very poor quality.

The gaps created by the disappearing ryegrass have been filled up with broad leave weeds and weed grasses like annual meadowgrass, yorkshire fog, bent grasses, chewings fescue and strong creeping red fescue.

All grasses which are totally unproductive to the field, delivering less than 25% of what perennial ryegrass will produce.

The field will also deteroriate quicker than other fields as it is not wear tolerant, so will not be able to resist poaching by grazing animals.

WHAT THIS MEANS

A field with a classification of Index 1 is not nutritious, has no feed value and is therefore of no use to ruminant livestock.

WHAT TO DO

The field has gone past that stage of being profitable; it isn’t worth putting any fertiliser on the grass.

It will not be used efficiently (around 10-15% efficiency from the fertiliser that is applied).

In this situation, with less than 25% of productivity from the field the recommendation here is to plough it up and start again with a re-seed.